"For Your Babies" is a song by British

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

and pop band

Simply Red Simply Red are a British soul and pop band formed in Manchester in 1985. The lead vocalist of the band is singer and songwriter Mick Hucknall, who, by the time the band initially disbanded in 2010, was the only original member left. Since the ...

. Written by

Mick Hucknall Michael James Hucknall (born 8 June 1960) is an English singer and songwriter. Hucknall achieved international fame in the 1980s as the lead singer and songwriter of the soul-influenced pop band Simply Red, with whom he enjoyed a 25-year career ...

, it was released in January 1992 as the third single from the band's forth album, ''

Stars A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma held together by its gravity. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night, but their immense distances from Earth ma ...

'' (1991). The song reached number nine on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

in February same year. It also reached the top 20 in Ireland and the top 30 in Austria and Belgium. The track was included on the band's compilation albums, ''

Greatest Hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be crea ...

'' in 1996, '' Simply Red 25: The Greatest Hits'' in 2008 and '' Songs of Love'' in 2010. It was also featured on the band's acoustic album '' Simplified'' in a new version.

Critical reception

Larry Flick Larry Flick is an American journalist, former dance music columnist, single reviewer, and Senior Talent Editor for ''Billboard'' magazine, where he worked for 14 years. Now he produces and hosts Sirius XM radio shows. Flick started in the music ...

from ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' felt that here,

"offers an unusually restrained and completely effective performance on this delicately arranged R&B gem." Clark and DeVaney from '' Cashbox'' noted that the song "is set at a mellow, easy-listening pace. Following in the footsteps of their previous material, they have perfectly matched the above-average production with the soft-tone vocals." Rufer and Fell from the ''

Gavin Report The ''Gavin Report'' was a San Francisco-based radio industry trade publication. The publication was founded by radio performer Bill Gavin in 1958. Its Top 40 listings were used for many years by programmers to decide content of programs. The pu ...

'' called it "the ultimate

Mother's Day Mother's Day is a celebration honoring the mother of the family or individual, as well as motherhood, maternal bonds, and the influence of mothers in society. It is celebrated on different days in many parts of the world, most commonly in the ...

record delivered with loving sentimentality by Mr. Hucknall." Adam Sweeting from ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' named it the singer's "exquisite tear-jerking showpiece". Pan-European magazine ''

Music & Media ''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later ...

'' described it as a "very gentle, vulnerable

pop ballad A sentimental ballad is an emotional style of music that often deals with romantic and intimate relationships, and to a lesser extent, loneliness, death, war, drug abuse, politics and religion, usually in a poignant but solemn manner.J. M. Cu ...

, thoughtfully arranged and featuring some fine Spanish acoustic guitar licks." A reviewer from ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as '' Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music W ...

'' stated that "an uncluttered and pretty ballad with no hiding place, it certainly draws a fine performance from Hucknall, full of nuances and pure, clear phrasing. A smash." '' Newcastle Journal'' deemed it as a "honest ballad". ''

People Magazine ''People'' is an American weekly magazine that specializes in celebrity news and human-interest stories. It is published by Dotdash Meredith, a subsidiary of IAC (company), IAC. With a readership of 46.6 million adults in 2009, ''People ...

'' remarked that Hucknall's singing "is still the hook in

's music, sliding gently in a pillow-soft upper register." Karla Peterson from ''

The Press-Courier ''The Oxnard Press-Courier'' was a newspaper located in Oxnard, California, United States. It ceased publication in June 1994 after 95 years.

'' viewed it as "a tender tribute to parenthood in times of trouble". Johnny Dee from ''

Smash Hits ''Smash Hits'' was a British music magazine aimed at young adults, originally published by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006, and, after initially appearing monthly, was issued fortnightly during most of that time. The name survived as a brand fo ...

'' called it a "soulful, smoochy track", giving it four out of five.

Retrospective response

Writing for CultureSonar in 2018, Ellen Fagan felt that Hucknall "was never more appealing than in this

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

of a proud dad serenading his little child with loving hopes for his future during the sleepless days of early parenthood. Hucknall had his first baby decades after this was written, so his ability to conjure up such a scenario is deliciously prescient."

musicOMH MusicOMH (stylized as musicOMH) is a London-based online music magazine which publishes independent reviews, features and interviews from across all genres including classical, metal, rock and R&B. History MusicOMH was founded and launched by ...

declared it as a "perfect romantic ballad". In an 2015 retrospective review, Pop Rescue complimented it as "a wonderfully gentle track, laden with piano, bass, and acoustic guitar", where the singer "takes a leisurely stroll through the lyrics."

Music video

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

was produced to promote the single, directed by British commercial, film and music video director Andrew Morahan.

Track listings

Credits and personnel

Credits are lifted from the ''

'' album booklet. Studios * Recorded at Condulmer Recording Studio (

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

, Italy) * Mixed at

Conway Studios Conway may refer to: Places United States * Conway, Arkansas * Conway County, Arkansas * Lake Conway, Arkansas * Conway, Florida * Conway, Iowa * Conway, Kansas * Conway, Louisiana * Conway, Massachusetts * Conway, Michigan * Conway T ...

(Los Angeles) * Mastered at

Bernie Grundman Bernie Grundman is an American audio engineer. He is most known for his mastering work and his studio, Bernie Grundman Mastering, which he opened in 1984 in Hollywood. The studio, which includes engineers Chris Bellman, Patricia Sullivan, and Mi ...

Mastering (Los Angeles) Simply Red *

– words, music, vocals, backing vocals, co-production *

Fritz McIntyre Fritz Gerald McIntyre (2 September 1958 – 23 August 2021) was a British musician, most famous for his tenure as keyboard player in the original line-up of Simply Red. Early life McIntyre was born in Birmingham in 1958. His father was not ...

– additional vocals, keyboards *

Tim Kellett Tim Kellett (born 23 July 1964 in Knaresborough, Yorkshire, England) is an English musician, songwriter and record producer. Biography Kellett has worked in the British music industry for the past twenty eight years. His professional career b ...

– keyboards *

Heitor Pereira Heitor Teixeira Pereira () (born November 29, 1960), or Heitor TP, is a Brazilian composer, songwriter, musician, arranger, and record producer. In his career, Pereira has recorded with the band Simply Red and several famous musicians, such as Elt ...

– guitars *

Ian Kirkham Ian Kirkham (born 9 March 1963 in Preston, Lancashire''The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock and Roll'' - 3rd Edition) is an English saxophonist, best known for his playing with Simply Red from 1986 until the band retired in 2010. He reprised h ...

– saxophone *

Gota Yashiki is a Japanese musician, both an independent acid jazz artist and drum/bass player, as a member of the band Simply Red. Biography He was born in Kyoto, Japan, on 26 February 1962, where at a young age he learned how to play traditional Japan ...

– drums, percussion, programs * Shaun Ward – bass guitar Other personnel *

Stewart Levine Stewart Levine (born 1946) is an American record producer. He has worked with such artists as The Crusaders, Minnie Riperton, Lionel Richie, Simply Red, Hugh Masekela, Dr. John, Randy Crawford, B.B. King, Huey Lewis and the News, Patti LaBelle ...

– production * Daren Klein – mixing, engineering * Sandro Franchin – assistant engineering * Marnie Riley – assistant mix engineering * Bernie Grundman – mastering

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1990s ballads 1991 songs 1992 singles Black-and-white music videos East West Records singles Music videos directed by Andy Morahan Pop ballads Simply Red songs Song recordings produced by Stewart Levine Songs written by Mick Hucknall